Human Rights Voluntary Goals

A/HRC/RES/9/12View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, published in 2008.

What’s in this document?

16 operative paragraphs

Encourages States to accomplish progressively the following set of human rights voluntary goals:

Universal ratification of the core international human rights instruments and dedication of all efforts towards the universalization of the international human rights obligations of States;

Strengthening of the legal, institutional and policy framework at the national level in order to ensure the promotion and protection of all human rights;

Establishment of human rights national institutions guided by the Paris Principles and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action with appropriate funding to fulfil their mandates;

Elaboration of national human rights programmes and plans of action to strengthen the capacity of States to promote and protect human rights;

Definition and implementation of national programmes of action that promote the realization of the rights and goals set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to, inter alia, eliminate discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, and all forms of violence against, inter alia, women, children, indigenous populations, migrants and persons with disabilities;

Adoption and implementation of programmes of human rights education, such as the World Programme for Human Rights Education, in all learning institutions, including capacity-building programmes for law enforcement professionals, in order to advance a culture of respect for human rights;

Increasing cooperation with all mechanisms of the United Nations human rights system, including special procedures and treaty bodies;

Strengthening of mechanisms to facilitate international cooperation in the field of human rights by, inter alia, identifying areas to which international cooperation might be offered and received, in accordance with national priorities;

Creation of favourable conditions at the national, regional and international levels to ensure the full and effective enjoyment of all human rights, including the right to development;

Strengthening the capacity to fight hunger and poverty through, inter alia, the continuation of efforts aimed at identifying additional forms of international cooperation in this regard;

Invites States, if they deem it appropriate and where relevant, to report on the progressive implementation of the human rights voluntary goals within the United Nations human rights system in, inter alia, the context of their review under the universal periodic review mechanism;

Requests States to disseminate and promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as widely as possible;

Reinforces the invitation to States and all relevant stakeholders to submit to the Council the projects and activities undertaken at the national, regional and international levels on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Invites States to report on the status of the implementation of these human rights voluntary goals on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Welcomes its initiative to convene a commemorative session of the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to seize that opportunity to launch the human rights voluntary goals.

Human Rights Voluntary Goals

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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